At the beginning of April, the Ministry of National Defense authorized a visit schedule to the so-called “People’s Prison” due to the “characteristics of the place and the sensitivity that memory evokes.”
In the last few hours, the Association of Former Political Prisoners of Uruguay – Crysol sent a letter to Minister García through which they express “discomfort and grievance” with the decision to promote visits to the premises of Juan Paullier 1190 “ignoring and without even mentioning that this place was an important torture center for the Armed Forces during State terrorism.”
The ministerial decision ignores that “it is the obligation of the rulers to honor and recognize those who paid a heavy price for confronting the authoritarian government of Jorge Pacheco Areco, the civic-military dictatorship, State terrorism, and who therefore suffered serious violations of human rights”, states the association.
At the same time, they recall that in 2019, Parliament enshrined Law 19,641, (Sites Law) with the “manifest and declared purpose of recognizing and honoring the victims of serious human rights violations in the fight for freedom, democracy and the full validity of the rule of law”.
They consider that the premises, located at Juan Paullier 1190, should have been returned to their rightful owners. “Since it is in the hands of the State, it should be marked as a Site of Memory.”
“In the framework of the wave of repression against hundreds of militants of the Communist Party of Uruguay, called ‘Operation Morgan’, dozens of citizens were housed in that place between the end of 1975 and the beginning of 1976,” says Crysol.
Memory Site
In their letter to García, they affirm that as an organization that condemns State terrorism and its massive, systematic and generalized practices against the civilian population, they will promote the National Honorary Commission of Sites of Memory to mark said place in recognition, homage and reparation to those who they suffered to conquer freedom and democracy, as established by current legislation.
In the so-called “People’s Prison”, the National Liberation Movement-Tupamaros carried out political kidnappings. On May 27, 1972, the Joint Forces found the place and arrested those who operated it. It then passed into the hands of the Ministry of Defence.
